Egypt to launch new grain storage system next week: Minister

Egypt will launch a new grain storage system next week, in the hope of reducing by a quarter the amount of wheat wasted annually, Supply Minister Khaled Hanafy announced on Tuesday.

The government signed an agreement with Blumberg Grains in December to replace 93 local wheat barns with food security technology and systems at a cost of $28 million (LE200 million).

The new storage system will save Egypt an estimated LE1 billion annually, the US-based global food security company said.

The Army Engineering Authority, Egyptian Holding Company for Silos and Storage and the supply ministry are collaborating with Blumberg Grain to complete the project by the next harvest season in April.

In the harvest season, the Egyptian government buys wheat from local farmers, estimated to reach 3.5 million tonnes in fiscal year 2014-15, to be used in subsidised bread, the main staple of the Egyptian diet.

Egypt is estimated to import 4.3 million tonnes of wheat in the current fiscal year to sustain the nationwide bread subsidy.